Charles Donagh Maginnis

Charles Donagh Maginnis (January 7, 1867 – February 15, 1955) was an Irish-American architect. He emigrated to Boston at age 18, trained as an architect and went on to form the firm Maginnis & Walsh, designing ecclesiastical and campus buildings across America. From 1937 to 1939, Maginnis held the office of President of the American Institute of Architects.

Biography Maginnis was born in County Londonderry, Ireland, on January 7, 1867. He was educated in Dublin, emigrated to Boston at age 18 and got his first job apprenticing for architect Edmund M. Wheelwright as a draftsman. In 1900, he became a member of the Boston Society of Architects, serving as its president from 1924 to 1926. Though he worked in a number of styles, Maginnis became a distinguished proponent of Gothic architecture and an articulate writer and orator on the role of architecture in society. His pioneering work both influenced and was influenced by fellow Gothicist Ralph Adams Cram.

In 1898, Maginnis went into partnership with Timothy Walsh and Matthew Sullivan to form Maginnis, Walsh and Sullivan. This was the same year he designed St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. This commission started his career designing buildings for the Roman Catholic Church.